The Last of Us: Immortals
by Rook-the-Ace
Summary: 20 years after the Cordyceps Brain Infenction struck humanity, well over 60% of its population is dead or infected, humanity only exists in Quarantine Zones run under Martial Law. Crime thrives, however, and Tess & Father-Daughter duo Joel & Sarah live as smugglers in the QZ. But when they cross paths with the Fireflies, a Militia seeking a cure, they are sent across what remains.
1. Chapter 1

Joel jerked up from his deep sleep, another nightmare from the events 20 years ago, the night he almost lost his daughter.

The knocking in the door became louder, as the now grey haired, but still capable man rose to his feet.

"I'm Coming" He yelled out in his signature Texas accent as the knocking intensified.

Joel opened the door, seeing Tess, his partner in the Smuggling business, sporting a black eye.

"How was your morning?" She uttered sarcastically as she let herself in and poured herself a glass of whiskey.

"Want One?" She asked, handing the bottle towards Joel.

"No" He exclaimed harshly.

"I don't want one"

"Well I have some interesting new for you" Tess continued

"Where were you Tess" Joel snapped

"West End District" She explained after a brief hesitation

"Hey, we had a drop to make"

"We" Joel barked

"We had a drop to make"

"Yeah, well, you wanted to be left alone, remember" Tess explained.

"So I'll take one guess" Joel began

"The whole deal went south and the client made off with all our pills. Is that about right"?

"Deal went off without a hitch" Tess countered

"Enough Ration Cards to last us a couple months, easy" She continued as she threw a stack of ration cards on the table.

"You want to explain this then?" Joel asked, pointing towards his eye.

"I was on my way back here when I got jumped by these two assholes alright? Yeah they got a few good hits in" She explained as she poured a bit of whiskey into a rag

"Look I managed" She half yelled as she noticed Joel roll his eyes

"Gimme that" Joel retorted as he snatched the alcohol soaked rag before gently dabbing it onto the swelling directly underneath Tess' right eye.

"Are these assholes still with us?" Joel asked

"Now that's funny" Tess responded with a smile

"Did you at least find out who they were?" He continued

"Yeah, look" Tess began and she swatted Joel's arm away from here

"They were a couple of nobodies, they don't matter. What matters is that Robert fucking sent them"

"Our Robert"? Joel Questioned rhetorically

"He knows were after him. He figures he's gonna get us first"

"That son of a bitch he's smart" Joel exclaimed as he threw the rag on the counter in frustration.

"No" The softer, yet still Texan accent said from the doorway on the other side of the room

"He's not smart enough" Sarah continued

"I know where he's hiding"

"Like hell you do" Tess said with a smile on her face

"Old warehouse in Area 5, can't say for how long though"

"Well I'm ready now, yeah?" Tess said as she barged back out the door

"Oh, I can do now" Joel muttered as he and Sarah followed Tess out the door.

The Trio entered the street, filled with litter and the smell of garbage, watching as soldiers walked across the roof of the apartment building.

"The Checkpoints still open" Sarah stated

"Only a few hours left until curfew" Joel added

"We better hurry up then" Tess blankly said.

"Maybe you should stay here Sarah, just to be safe" Joel said.

"Well what if he sends guys after me while I'm alone" Sarah countered.

"Tess managed to get rid of them" Joel retorted

"Yeah, Tess and her bionic arm barely got threw it, I'm not gonna do it alone"

"She's got a point Joel" Tess interrupted

"Fine" Joel said, accepting defeat.

Tess unlocked the gate in front of them and they walked a quick stretch of alley before reaching a long abandoned street, which was now a large walkway.

"Attention" A women on a loudspeaker began.

"Citizens are required to carry a current ID at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory"

"Look at that. Ration Line hasn't opened yet. Must be running low again" Tess stated as the argument between a women and a soldier at the Ration line across the street ensued.

The three stopped and watched Military members in HAZMAT suits forcefully check the occupants of a condemned building for the infection.

The trio moved on when a middle aged women tested positive for the infection, and was struggling against her restraints to get free of her imminent execution.

"Seems like more people are getting infected" Sarah stated as they moved on

"That just means more people are sneakin' out" Tess explained as they reached the checkpoint to Area 5 of the Boston Quarantine Zone.

"I got us all new papers" Tess explained as she handed her, Joel and Sarah's ID's to him.

"They shouldn't give us any static up there. Just play it cool".

"Let me see your ID's" The guard demanded.

"There you go" Joel said as he handed the Guard the ID's.

"What's your business here?" He demanded a second time as he inspected the ID's.

"Got the day off. Visiting a friend" Joel stated ironically, causing an almost undetectable smirk from Sarah.

"Alright" The guard said as he handed back there ID's.

"Move on through"

"Thanks" Joel uttered as they took a few steps.

An explosion suddenly ripped through the area, sending shrapnel into Joel's arms.

"Get outta here, Go" The guard yelled as he yanked Sarah to her feet and closed the gate.

The three ran back towards an apartment complex, hearing the nothing but bullets and Military screaming about Fireflies.

"Attention" The Loudspeaker began again.

"Checkpoint 5 is now closed until further notice. All civilians must clear the surrounding area immediately.

"Fuck" Tess exclaimed as they reached the apartment.

"Shit, are you okay?" Sarah said as they noticed the cut in her father's forearm.

"I'm fine" Joel remarked gruffly

"So much for the easy route. Patch yourself up, alright?" Tess said as she chucked Joel a bandage that he used immediately on his gashed arm.

"They're gonna close all the checkpoints. We're gonna have to go around the outside" She explained.

"Outside the Wall?" Sarah asked

"Or we could just jet Robert go" Tess said sarcastically

"Cute" Sarah retorted.

"Hey Tess, you see that shit" A fellow smuggler, a familiar face to Joel and Sarah, but did not have the slightest clue of his name, asked Tess as they walked up the corridor.

"I was there, hey, how's the East Tunnel looking?" Tess asked

"It's clear. I just used it. No Patrols. Where you off to?"

"Gonna pay Robert a visit"

"You too?"

"Who else is looking for him?"

"Uh, Marlene. She's been asking around, trying to find him"

"Marlene? What do the Fireflies want with Robert?"

"You think she'd tell me?"

"Well, what did you tell her?"

"The truth. I got no idea where he's hiding"

"Good man. Hey, you stay out of trouble, alright? Military's gonna be out in force soon"

"Yeah, see you around".

"Marlene lookin' for Robert?" Tess asked as she turned to face Joel, arriving at the apartment.

"What do you make of that?"

"I don't like it. We better find him before the Fireflies do" Joel explained as they were greeted by Apartment owner.

"Hey Guys, how's it going?" he asked the group.

"Shit's stirring up out there. How we lookin' over here?" Tess asked

"Ah, it's been quiet. No signs of Military or Infected." He explained

"That's what I like to hear" Tess exclaimed as she moved over to a nearly empty bookshelf.

"Joel give me a hand with this" She says as the two begin to move the Bookshelf out of the way, revealing a hole in the wall, with a huge drop into a tunnel.

"Y'all take it easy out there" the apartment owner says as Tess, followed Joel, followed by Sarah, jump into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

"Agh, this place reeks. They need to watch what they throw away done here" Tess complained as they entered pungent, almost pitch black tunnel that seemed like a suitable Coal Mine in the 1960's.

With a flip of a switch, the overhead lights, tied precariously to the roof wall, came to life.

"Let there be light" Tess said as she vaulted over a pipe towards a small storage area down a tight corridor.

"Let's grab our gear. Our Backpacks are still here from last time." She explained as they all grabbed their backpacks, within them a map of the Boston Quarantine Zone, a Military-issued Pamphlet that detailed the stages of the Cordyceps Brain Infection had on its human hosts, a 9mm Colt Defender Pistol, a Magazine of Ammunition & a S10 Gas Mask.

"Not a lot of ammo" Joel remarked as he loaded his Magazine, only containing 4 bullets, into his Colt.

"Well, make your shots count" Sarah countered jokingly.

"Alright, Texas" Tess interrupted as they reached a large wall.

"Boost me up. You Ready?" She asked as she walked back for a run up.

"Yes ma'am" Joel answered as the joined his hands over his knee, ready to vault Tess up the Wall.

Tess ran, stepping off Joel as he pushed her up at the same time, creating enough lift for Tess to reach the top of the ledge and pull herself up, before stationing herself to catch Sarah.

"You ready Baby Girl?" Joel question as he positioned himself a second time.

Sarah opted instead to place her foot onto Joel's hands, placing her hand on her father's shoulder before being pushed up into the hands of Tess, the three working together to get her up.

"Ready dad?" Sarah asked as she positioned herself, alongside Tess, to catch Joel.

Joel jumped, with Sarah catching one arm and Tess catching the other, both working together to pull him up.

They reached the next obstacle, only a few feet in front, a large plank of wood as the new roof above their heads. Tess and Sarah lift the plank as far as they can as Joel vaults up rolls underneath the small gap they created before, taking the weight of it, letting Tess and Sarah through, before lowering the plank back into its rightful spot, covering the hole in the floor that is the exit of the tunnel.

The three then leave the building, which was once a small diner, know a crumbling stack of bricks, slowly being reclaimed by nature, before entering an open area, which was once a road, now filled with grass and small holes filled with water.

"Be Careful" Joel called out to Sarah as she ran off into the open, admiring the view of an ironically beautiful crumbling building and the huge concrete wall the Military had set up to keep the infection out.

"When am I not?" Sarah retorted

"That a trick question?" Joel said chuckling as he turned to Tess.

"Ain't been out here in a while" He remarked as they walked through the beautifully abandoned road.

"It's like we're on a date" She remarked

"Well I am the romantic type" he joked

"You got your ways" she joked back.

"Get a room you two" Sarah yelled from across the old road.

"How come you never bring her with us?" Tess questioned as they followed Sarah

"What, outside the wall?"

"Yeah, she loves it out here, beats the QZ anyway"

"I gotta protect her. It's dangerous out here, I came too close to losing her before and I'm not letting it happen now"

"She never had a chance to be a kid Joel, every time she comes with us to a new place it's like she's 12 years old again, you of all people should appreciate that the most"

"Well that ain't for you to decide". Joel concluded firmly.

"Tess, where's the ladder?" Sarah yelled out

"It's gotta be her somewhere" Tess responded.

"Got it" Joel yelled out after a brief period of searching, brandishing a large Silver Single Ladder.

"Great. Bring it over" Tess yelled back.

"Ladies first" Joel said as he gestured at the ladder, now set up to reach a hole in the dilapidated building were the trail continued.

"Lady? You must be thinking of else" Tess joked as she began climbing

"It's all relative" Joel replied.

"Gross" Sarah mumbled as she began climbing the ladder

"Are you ever gonna grow up?" Joel joked

"Probably not, why?" Sarah responded.

"This way, down through here" Tess yelled out as they entered the abandoned apartment, following Tess down a flight of stairs before jumping down into the basement, as the stairs had collapsed halfway.

"You think Roberts still got our guns?" Tess asked as they navigated through the maze-like basement.

"For his sake, he better" Joel responded gruffly

"Look, once we get our shipment back, it should be easy to unload" Tess explained

"Speaking of merchandise, when's the next shipment due?" Joel asked, changing the subject.

"Well we're meeting Bill next month" Tess explained as they reached a long corridor.

"More pills, lots of ammo, supposedly".

"Yeah, well he always shows up with somethin'. Should keep us busy for a while." Joel responds as Tess rounds the corner of the corridor.

"Hold up" She yells out as Joel and Sarah catch up.

"Spores" She informs them as the three don there S10 Gas Masks.

"You got any cuts on you Sarah?" Joel asked as he adjusted his Mask.

"No" She responded plainly.

"Does the mask fit?"

"Yeah, it's fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"Let me just have a quick check.." He explained as he moved closer to inspect his daughters mask, causing her to push his arm away.

"Dad" She chuckled in a mix between annoyance and nervousness.

"I'm fine, okay?" She said as she stared at her father, the two seeing only blank stares of the Gas Mask

"okay baby girl" Joel said hesitantly

"Let's go" Tess sad as she began to enter the cloud of Spores.

"Where the hell are these comin' from? The place was clear last time" Joel said, clearing the air.

"They're comin out of somethin'. Stay Alert" Tess responded as they crouched and entered a small tunnel under the rubble of a partially floor of the area above them.

"There's our culprit" Joel mumbled as he investigated a deceased body in front of him, obviously infected and blooming spores.

"Body's not that old" Tess informed.

"Better keep your eyes and ears open".

"We should be able to fit through here" Joel said as he arrived at the exit, a small gap between the wall and a large filing cabinet, this time with a large plank of wood wedged between the ground and the roof, blocking there path.

Joel grasped the plank, yanking and releasing it from the roof.

"Oh shit" he yelled as the roof above him partially collapsed, sending Sarah immediately running towards him.

"You okay?" She asked as Joel nursed the area of his head that a large piece of concrete had fallen on.

"Yeah, Damn Ceiling is falling apart." He yelled in frustration.

"This way" Sarah said as she cut in front to lead Joel and Tess, much to the disappointment of Joel.

"Maybe I should go first" Joel said, totally ignored by Sarah as she continued.

"Just…be careful" He said solemnly as Tess joined him in trying to squeeze through the space.

"I'm right you know?" Tess said almost gloatingly

"Yeah, I know" Joel said, defeated.

Suddenly Joel perked up to the sound of Sarah screaming through the Gas Mask.

Taking three large steps towards her, pushing her gently out of the way of the reach of the trapped survivor reaching out to her, before assisting Tess in stepping over him, finally drawing his 9mm on him.

"Help me…" He began weakly.

"My mask broke. Don't….don't leave me to turn…..please".

Joel hesitated for a minute, before firing a shot into the head of the survivor, startling Sarah.

"Poor Bastard" Tess exclaimed softly as Joel quickly turned to console Sarah.

"You okay baby girl?" Joel asked.

"Yeah" she responded, breathing slightly heavier

"I'm fine".

"I'm still right though" Tess interrupted as she walked past with a shrug of her shoulders as Joel helped a slightly shaky Sarah to her feet, rolling his eyes behind Tess' back as she walked up the stairs.

"Okay Baby Girl" Joel began, lifting Sarah to her feet.

"We're gonna head through here, up the stairs and then it should be smooth sailing"

"Okay" Sarah said uncharacteristically quiet.

"Up ahead. You hear that?" Tess half whispered over the sound of bottles and wood falling.

The three stayed quiet, until screams filled the hair. Joel snuck in front of Tess, hushing the two as he crouched underneath a half boarded up doorway, followed by Tess, accompanying Sarah.

Joel slowly turned the corner, spying an Infected, only at Stage 1, merely a few hours old. He walked silently into Close Quarters, grabbing it from behind into a Rear-Naked Choke fashion. Joel tightened his grip, effectively starving the brain of Oxygen, as the Infected flailed in an attempt to free itself. After a few seconds, the Infected fell into unconsciousness effectively killing it as the Central Nervous System would be destroyed by the Cordyceps inside it.

Joel then turned his attention to two more Infected, both Stage 1. He rounded the corner of the room into a corridor, drawing his Colt Defender at the sight of the two devouring a recently slaughtered survivor, whose screams echoed through the building just seconds before.

Joel aimed down the Iron Sights, before pulling the trigger, embedding a bullet in the head of the Female Infected, killing it instantly. The other instantly jerked, giving a blood-curdling scream as it sprinted towards Joel, who responded by firing of his last three bullets, one in each shoulder, before dispatching it with a headshot.

"Alright, that's all of 'em" Tess said as she moved past the bodies and towards the stairs.

"Let's hope so" Joel responded gruffly.

"How you holdin' up baby girl" Joel asked as he turned to Sarah, both entering the staircase.

"I'm alright" Sarah responded quickly.

"Let's head back into the city". Tess called out from the floor above them.

The two began a light jog up the stairs, before meeting Tess, who was waiting by a hole in the brick wall of the building. The trio jumped down into the grass below, removing there Gas Masks as they stared at the road in front of them, being overgrown by nature, the sidewalk on the other side next to a large building, and meeting up with the giant Wall the Military had placed there a decade ago.

"Ahhh…..some fresh air" Tess exclaimed after a deep exhale as they began to cross the road, now flooded with water that filled over the craters left behind by Military bombing runs.

"That's the one thing I love about the outside. Fuckin' hate the smell of the city."

"Why don't you ask Bill to get you some of those air fresheners?" Joel asked sarcastically, prompting a chuckle from Tess.

"Hey, if they weren't expired that'd be a good idea" She responded as they reached the other side of the road, revealing a large wooden pallet, disguised under overgrowing vines, used as a hidden door to access another hole in the wall.

Joel opened the doorway, letting the two girls through, before closing it under Tess' orders and following them towards the wooden plank they use as a bridge to make it across the collapsed floorboards to the other side of the building.

"Damn it" Tess exclaimed in frustration.

"Plank fell down…..Be a dear would you?" She continued, prompting a chuckle from Joel.

"I'll Get it" Joel said as he jumped down into what was once the basement and retrieving the plank, slowly picking it up and placing it against a wall, the top of the plank just reaching the top of the 10-12 ft. drop.

"It's a bit heavy" Joel warned Tess as she and Sarah came over to the plank, lifting back onto their level.

"I think I can handle it" Tess responded, rolling her eyes as, unlike Sarah, she helped lift the plank up with ease.

"Alright" Joel muttered as he walked away, looking for a ledge small enough for him to jump up and pull himself up.

Tess and Sarah lay down the plank carefully across the gaping gap in the floor, probably another 10-12 ft. across, before Tess sends Sarah across the makeshift bridge.

"Get your ass up here. Let's move" Tess called out as Joel just emerged from the pit below.

"Bossy Today" He muttered loud enough for Tess to here as he followed her across the plank.

"When you guys said Tunnel this wasn't exactly what I was expecting". Sarah spoke up when Joel and Tess caught up at the rusted remains of a Fire Exit staircase, watching as she stared at the beautiful scenes of birds flying around the tree's that now grew within the street and buildings of Boston.

"Yeah, it's a bit different to looking at dirt" Joel remarked as he jumped down and area of the metal staircase that had long since rusted and fallen of.

"That is one helluva view" Tess exclaimed as she shared the scene with Sarah, someone so close nowadays they could be mistaken for sisters. The friendship the two had was stronger than any either had before the outbreak, and although Tess had been strictly business the entirety of the trek to find Robert. They both stood still, forgetting everything that had happened in the past 20 years, just to enjoy the view had for that split second.

"Let's make sure there aren't any soldiers around" Joel yelled out from down in the overgrown street. Snapping the two out of there daze.

Tess, followed by Sarah jumped down to follow Joel. Although he didn't have time to be looking at the view, he too appreciated the moments that Tess and Sarah spent together. For first few years Joel & Tommy spent surviving in Texas, the joyful moment the three spent together were few and far between. Tommy's idea to head up to Boston didn't go well either and by the time Joel felt he could keep Sarah safe she was already 18. The only person other than himself he trusted with Sarah was Tess. Tess was with the two for Sarah's 18th birthday, and the 19th one, and everyone since then, and had been there ever since. She protected Sarah with almost every ounce of ferocity her father had for 10 years and the moment they spent inside the Quarantine Zone with Tess were probably the best he had in his life. The joyful moment he had thought he lost forever had begun to return and even though he lived a less than legal life, he felt that Sarah was safe, even without Tommy, he felt his family has complete.

"It's clear, come on" Joel called out as they walked down a short alley into another overgrown street, before heading into a building through a functioning door, closing it behind him, again after Tess' command, before walking through the dark room towards a door that led to a Black Market, far from the knowledge of the Military.

"Pick up that ammo" Tess ordered as the three loaded there 9mm Colt Defenders.

"I'm sure we'll need it" She added

"That's a joke, right?" Sarah asked as she loaded the Magazine into the Pistol Grip and pulled the slide back.

"No" she stated bluntly as she herself did the same action with her Colt, before looking back at a concerned Sarah.

"Hey, you've done this before" Tess said reassuringly.

"Remember that time we went down the wrong tunnel to get home and into those other smugglers?" Tess asked.

"Yeah" Sarah said as she holstered her pistol grudgingly.

"I don't remember this" Joel said gruffly looking at Tess somewhat angrily.

"I'll tell you later" Tess simply said, brushing him off to the surprise of Joel.

"But that was self-defence, they tried to kill us" Sarah added

"They tried to kill me, therefore it's self-defence" Tess stated as she knocked on the door leading to the market.

"We're about to go V for Vendetta on their ass" She muttered as she waited for an answer.

"Classic Tess" Joel teased.

"Ain't it ever" Tess responded as the door opened.

Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm not the kinda guy that really does these kinda authors notes, but I wanted to acknowledge all the people that are supporting me write this. It's not exactly a secret that I'm not the best at writing, but I this is the way I can get my imagination to come to life and I thank you all again for your support.


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